Author's note: Some spoilers from Scion of the Shredder. Just a bit. I still don't own the turtles...Or April, Casey and Bishop. I own Molly and Lexa, though. That counts for something, right?

Found

Michelangelo's POV

Everyone's been doing a lot of moping since we saved that Allie or Lexa chick. Even Leo's been worse than his usual 'I failed as a leader' phase. I'm starting to think there's something going on but puzzles are more Donnie's thing. I think it has to do with that crazy chick but I 'm pretty sure Molly-O is trying to cover that. She wants to meet for a session which I am totally down for. I don't know what she's trying to get out of me but as long as we can chat about the latest edition of Silver Sentry, I'm game!

Third person POV

It had been two days and Molly was becoming increasingly concerned with Lexa's behavior. The CT scanner was up and running but their patient was avoiding any use of it at all costs. She complained of not feeling well for half a day before her excuses turned into her disappearing. By the time she would return, she would reason that she was too tired and lock herself into her room. It didn't help that she was not speaking with Molly since their last spat. They barely made eye contact and when they did it was usually Molly catching her mid-stare. She was beginning to wonder if the suicidal tendencies were going to return.

"So what's with the bow, Molly-O?" Michelangelo's question interrupted her thoughts. A quiver of arrows slung over her right hip as she carried a bow in hand. The brunette was leading the youngest of the brothers deep into the woods. He was babbling on about comic books as they walked before he made mention of her weapon.

"A little game of concentration." She replied, guiding him into an opening. She pointed to the trees a bit of a distance away. "I drew targets on those trees. You are going to try to hit them." She explained as she unclipped the quiver from her hip and handed it and the bow to the turtle. "I'm assuming your master taught you some archery."

"A little. I wasn't too good at it." Michelangelo admitted.

"Well, just try." Molly ordered as she sat on the ground to watch. He slung the quiver over his shoulder before drawing out a bow. As he took aim, she spoke. "Have you been feeling concerned for Leonardo?"

"Huh?" He lowered the bow and looked in her direction.

"Don't stop aiming." She pointed again to the trees. "I'm sure you can multitask."

"I don't know." He took aim again. "He's always mopey when he doesn't feel good about himself. Sometimes it takes a while for him to snap out of it." He released the arrow and frowned as it hit the ground beside a tree.

"Try again." She eyed the turtle. He sighed but obeyed. "Do you think he'll snap out of it?"

"Maybe." He took aim. "It might take him having to leave again..."

"Do you want him to leave?" He released the arrow and glared at her. It flew way off course.

"No."

"Why?"

"What?"

"Why don't you want your brother to leave?" Molly inquired. "Try another one."

"Why am I even doing this?"

"Just shoot another arrow." Was the reply. As he drew another arrow from the quiver, the turtle shook his head. "Are you going to answer my question?"

"This is so not fun, Molly-O"

"Well?"

"Why would I want him to leave? I don't want anyone to leave." He took aim.

"As you all age, that may be inevitable."

"Yeah, well we'll deal with that when it happens." He shot another arrow, striking just below the target. "Ha!"

"What was it like with him gone the first time?"

"Everyone was so bummed out." He readily took out another arrow with more confidence. "It was exhausting. Anytime Leo's name came up, the whole room would get quiet. I don't want to go through that again." He took aim.

"What made it exhausting?"

"Trying being the only one not moping around. Raph was even moodier than normal." He shot another arrow that hit right below the target again. "Donnie locked into project after project. Even Master Splinter seemed out of it. No one wanted to listen to my jokes."

"You tried to cheer everyone up?"

"Yeah. It didn't do a lot of good. We tried to patrol a few times but it wasn't the same. Then we ended up losing our home because Karai still had a grudge against us for sending the Shredder to some ice planet." He took out another arrow and aimed. "Man were we glad to have Leo back."

"So you can't grow as a team without Leonardo?"

"Who else is going to lead us?" He released the arrow, this time making it to the edge of the target. "Alright!"

"I suppose any of you could." Molly replied to which Michelangelo snorted.

"Raph gets too impatient. Donnie gets too stressed out. I wouldn't even bother."

"You don't like the idea of leading?"

"It's hard enough watching my own shell. I can handle looking out for my brothers, too, sometimes. But to do all that and try to come up with plans...My brain hurts now just thinking about it." He grabbed another arrow and took aim. "I mean; I can barely concentrate during meditation. How would I even begin to lead?"

"What if he could not return one way or the other?" She inquired as he released the arrow. It landed farther off course than his initial ones.

"A little heavy, Molly-O..." He spoke quietly as he slipped the quiver off of his shoulder and handed it to her with the bow. "I'm done talking about this." Molly sighed and stood up, dusting herself off before taking them back.

"You did good up to this point." She tied the quiver over her hip and headed for the trees to collect the arrows.

"Why was I shooting arrows?"

"I figured if your concentration was split between talking and shooting, we could have a more honest conversation." Molly replied picking up the arrows off the ground. "As much as I enjoy speaking of comic books with you, I'm still trying to get you to speak of something real."

"Not very cool." The turtle crossed his arms over his plastron. "I told you that I'm fine."

"That's what worries me." She began to pull the arrows out of the tree. "It is possible that your coping mechanism if very effective, but I'm not entirely convinced that is the case. Even if it is, you're still not addressing the problem."

"What problem?" He inquired as she approached him.

"How does a teenage mutant ninja turtle come out of traumatic experiences so well adjusted?" She answered his question with a questioned. "I wonder if you're repressing your true feelings."

"Come on, Molly-O!" Michelangelo whined. "Do you want me to act grumpy like Raph or serious like Leo...Or lose sleep like Donnie?"

"You don't have nightmares?"

"Maybe." He shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "But the others listen to me when I tell them about it."

"That's good." She smiled. "Do you tell them about other things, like how you feel about what you guys have went through?"

"Not really."

"Maybe it's time to start."

"I'm not into this Debbie Downer conversation. They have enough negativity between the three of them. Someone has to balance that out." He pointed out.

"Fair enough." Molly waved him to follow as she headed back toward the farmhouse. "But you're not exactly giving yourself that kind of balance. If you can't express the darker feelings you have, it will eventually come out in a destructive way. Don't get me wrong, I find your resilience to be very impressive, but true feelings eventually come to the surface."

"I swear, I'm fine."

"Then why is it so difficult for you to speak about how you feel?"

"Gotta give up something to keep this good wave going for as long as I can."

"Very well, then." Molly sighed. "If you do find the need to talk, you know how to reach me."

"Sure." Michelangelo shrugged his shoulders. "Now, back to that last Silver Sentry comic. It completely blew my mind!" They spent the rest of the walk speaking of comics.

Lexa paced back and fourth on the front porch, waiting for Molly to return. Her thumb shoved against her teeth to nibble on the very tip of her nail. The front door opened and out came the largest turtle of the bunch. She tried to remember the name. Was it Raphael or Renoir or some other old artist? They eyed each other with blatant disgust.

"What?" He finally growled. "Somethin' buggin' ya?"

"Yeah." She crossed her arms over her chest. "You and your freak brothers walking around like it's okay expose us with your ugly appearance."

"Oh! I'm sorry we didn' mean to offend ya with our looks. But don't worry, we'll turn back into princes at midnight!" He snarled. "Just because yer skin is the color of a mole rat, don't make you any better lookin'"

"Are you kidding me?" She sneered. "You four are the only ones in the world. You don't belong here. If anything, you should be swimming at the bottom of some punk kid's fish tank eating flies. It's by some freak accident you exist as you are. You're no better than a Siamese twin or the elephant man. Mankind will never accept mistakes like you. Get used to it."

"Woah! Harsh man!" Michelangelo exclaimed, approaching the porch with Molly right behind.

"I see you're being as charming as ever." Molly deadpanned. "Don't take her word to heart, boys. She's just cynical."

"I need a word with you." Lexa stepped off the porch and grabbed the brunette by the arm to pull her away.

"Bitch..." Raphael grunted under his breath.

"Aw! Come on, Raphie!" Michelangelo stepped on the porch and gave his brother's carapace a pat. "You're maybe only half as ugly as the elephant man!"

"I'll show you ugly!" Raphael barked as he chased after his younger sibling.

Molly, meanwhile allowed herself to be dragged away in hopes to avoid further confrontation between Raphael and Lexa. The blonde led her to the barn before she felt they were far enough from prying ears. They stood in silence momentarily as the younger woman gathered her thoughts together.

"You need to go. WE need to go." She finally said.

"Oh, really? And where to? You haven't even given Donatello an opportunity to help you with your condition." Molly snipped.

"You think I want him and that monstrosity he calls a friend to touch me?"

"They just wanted to start off with getting a CT scan. Is that so frightening?"

"YES! They built that thing in the basement. Who knows what kind of radiation it can be giving off?"

"Pretty low since it's a CT scanner. They don't typically give off that much."

"That's if they didn't mess it up. You don't know if that thing works right or not."

"Fine, you have a legitimate fear, but I trust them."

"How can you? I don't get it! How? They are animals who talk."

"They are highly intelligent mutated creatures. I think Donatello has an IQ rivaling Einstein. Leatherhead is probably the same. You have no reason to fear them, either. Those are the pacifists of the group." Molly put a hand on her shoulder. "Just let them help you."

"No...We...We have to leave here. I'm giving you one last chance." Lexa gazed into her eyes. "I don't want to lose you to this."

"What is going on with you...? I'm not going anywhere right now."

"You need to stay away from them. Or...You'll end up regretting it. Do you really want to sacrifice it all for them?"

"I made my choice. That is not up for discussion."

"Neither is my health. I'm sorry, Molly. I really tried." She walked away leaving the older woman puzzled.

Molly pushed her peas around the plate as she sat deep in thought. The background chatter was Michelangelo telling a funny story, she figured, but she didn't allow herself to pay close attention. Something was off about her earlier conversation and it was nagging at her. Lexa had gone straight to her room after and refused to answer when she had knocked on the door.

"'I'm giving you one last chance...'" She muttered.

"Molly?" April looked questioningly at her friend.

"'We need to leave here...'" She repeated Lexa's words again. Suddenly she stood as it sank in. "We need to leave here!"

"What's wrong?" Leonardo jumped up from his seat. His senses heightened from the sudden outburst. He had a sixth sense for danger.

"I-I think we're compromised. I think Lexa might have..." Molly shook her head. "We need to get out of here NOW!" Before anyone could react, a knock came from the front door. "You guys better-" She turned to the turtles only to notice they had disappeared. "...scatter..." She met eyes with April and Casey before they moved slowly to the door.

"Who is it?" April called out.

"Can I use your phone?" A man's voice inquired from behind the door. "My car broke down a mile down the road." The three looked at each other. Casey shook his head.

"I'm sorry." April apologized. "We don't have a working line right now. There should be another house a couple of miles down the road."

"Oh...Alright. Sorry for the trouble." The man sighed and his footsteps alerted them that he left the porch. They began to move away from the door.

"What is this about what Lexa might have done?" April inquired before a small explosion blew the door open. The three humans were thrown to the ground, cut up by wood and heat. Molly could hear a high pitch ringing in her ears as she tried to gather her bearings. Bright lights attached to guns nearly blinded her already fuzzy vision.

"We have to move!" She called to April and Casey who were trying to pull themselves together. Casey grabbed April and Molly by the hand and ducked into another room before the intruders opened fire, a string of curses leaving his lips.

"They can't be shooting at us!" The brunette cried aghast at the very thought that she could have been riddled with bullets.

"No." April blinked quickly, her vision finally coming back to focus. "I think they saw something else worth shooting at." On cue to confirm her statement, a loud growl could be heard from the hall.

"Is that...?" Molly inquired.

"Leatherhead." April replied. The door opened and Michelangelo's head popped in.

"Sorry to interrupt but we gotta split!" He shouted over the gun fire.

"Are you joking!?" Molly demanded exasperated. "There is a sea of bullets out there."

"No worries!" The turtle gave her a lazy smile. "LH has them distracted!" Though apprehensive, she allowed the words to convince her enough to leave the room. They followed Michelangelo up the stairs to the attic. There the other turtles were waiting. With a nod, Donatello slipped out of the window and helped pull the humans on to the roof. Michelangelo and Raphael followed close behind and Leonardo made up the tail end. They balanced precariously as they made their way across the roof.

"Molly!" Lexa's voice traveling to meet them from behind halted Molly mid-step. She slowly whirled around, looking beyond alarmed faces to the gaze at the blonde she once called her lover. She stood at the other end of the roof calmly.

"Was this you?" She demanded, already knowing the answer.

"Just surrender the freaks and you won't face the agency for your betrayal!" Was the reply.

"You know I can't do that. How could you betray us? They wanted to help you."

"Molly, we have to keep moving." April urged.

"I don't have cancer." Lexa finally announced.

"What...?" Molly breathed. They all looked over at the blonde now in a mix of disgust and disbelief.

"It was all a ruse to watch and get close to the turtles." Lexa confessed.

Molly stared dumbfounded at the other woman as if she were a ghost. Knees buckling, everything set in. Balance gave way and she slid down the roof, still shocked by the revelation of it all. They were all in danger and it was her fault. A gentle and haunted sole was sacrificing himself downstairs because of her stupidity. Casey's grandmother's house was possibly a loss because she never suspected such an obvious thing. This was why she avoided using the CT scanner. This was why she begged her to leave. All along she was being played. As she felt the roof disappear from underneath her descending body, she decided she deserved no less then this now. It was okay. Three fingers wrapped around her forearm and halted gravity from claiming her. Molly snapped back to reality and looked up. Hanging from the gutter was the fearless leader himself.

"Are you crazy!?" He barked.

"I put you all in danger!" She cried.

"Well, concentrate on getting out of here, then we can sulk and point fingers." Pursing her lips together, Molly nodded her head. He lifted her up by the arm. "Put your hands around my neck." He directed and she obeyed. With a hand free, he helped maneuver her behind his shell before making the climb down the side of the farm house. At this point, the others were climbing down from the other side as he had directed them to before diving after the falling psychologist. There were more men waiting as they reached the ground.

"You need to go." She finally told the turtle who drew out his katana.

"Not without you."

"I'm going to slow you down. If they capture you, who knows what will happen to you? I'll probably get held in a cell. I'm not in any danger. Leave."

"..."

"Stop calculating and planning and just GO!"

"We will find you."

"I'm counting on it."

"Wait for us."

"I don't really have a choice." She waved him on as five men closed in. "Go." The blue cladded terrapin gave her one last apologetic look before leaping over the heads of the armed men. He zigzagged into the woods as they three of them took chase and shot tranquilizers. The other two pointed their guns at her.

"You're coming with us." One stated.

"I guessed as much." She murmured raising her hands to show she was unarmed. She let them lead her to a black SUV with tinted windows. There, John Bishop waited. She sat beside him with a grim expression.

"You must be Molly O'Shea."

"The one and only."

"You are being taken into custody for violating code 1064. Hiding alien fugitives."

"They aren't aliens and I'm pretty sure you know that." She hissed. He simply smiled at her. The door opened and Lexa slid in beside her. "Perfect. I'm surrounded by assholes. My day just can't get any better. I want a lawyer."

"It doesn't work that way, Miss O'Shea." Agent Bishop said. "You were bound by the government to uphold the law. The stakes are higher for a woman in your position."

"Then imprison me. You won't be getting any information." She looked ahead, avoiding eye contact from both of them. Bishop nodded to the driver.

As the car drove off the property, Molly hoped with all of her might that they all escaped unscathed and with their lives intact. A voice over a radio grabbed a hold of her attention.

"We have one!" He reported.

"Good." Bishop spoke into the radio looking rather pleased. "Bring him in."

"Sorry, Molly." Lexa whispered, injecting a needle into her neck before she could react. The brunette glared at the blonde, her vision blurring. As she fought to cling on to consciousness, she made herself stare into her ex-lover's eyes.

"If you're looking for a monster," She slurred. "You didn't have to seek those boys out. All you had to do is look in the mirror." She caught a glimpse of hurt in her expression before she gave in to the black that came with sleep, thoroughly satisfied with the reaction she brought out in her. Her finally waking thoughts was a simple question. Which turtle do they have?

Author's Note: I did rush this one a bit. I admit it. I may go back and revamp it at some point. I'm just so impatient and want to pump out these chapters. Woe is me. Here's a little secret. I haven't even decided on which turtle they caught. Muahahahahaha! Stay tuned.